Damage
by Simone Robinson
Summary: Alliances with Amegakure are shaky, and the three members of team Kakashi are sent to help. But when Kakashi is hit by a mysterious poison, the rush to save his life begins. With only a few days left, will Naruto and Sakura be able tomake it in time?
1. Chapter 1

Note: Japanese Names of Villages and Counties are used.

**Surnames are written first and then names.**

**Amegakure** = The village hidden in the rain. This is a small village situated between three of the Five Great Shinobi Nations, it serves as a battlefield for their wars, and most of the population consists of war refugees. The country's borders are highly defended, and those wishing to pass through it are subject to constant surveillance for the duration of their stay.

**Konoha**= The village hidden in the leaves. (Naruto and other protagonists are from this village.)

**Kirigakure** = The village hidden in the mist. (Zabuza, Haku and Kisame are from this village.)

**Suna**= The village hidden in the sand. (Gaara, Temari and Kankuro are from this village.)

**Kazekage** = Suna's Kage or head-reigning ninja. (Gaara is Kazekage in this story's time line)

**Hanzo** The ruler of Amegakure (This is set before the Pein arc and Hanzo is still alive and in charge)

**Kage Bushin no Jutsu**= Shadow Clones Technique. (Naruto uses this all the time)

**Hajime no Yaro**= That basted Hajime (no Yaro is used as a disrespectful suffix to a name)

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"We'll set camp up here."

Naruto stopped just as he was about to spring to the next branch. He turned around to see that Kakashi had stopped a few meters behind him and was surveying the surrounding area.

"Sensei? Why are we stopping?"

Naruto looked to his left where Sakura was standing on a nearby tree, her hands on her hips.

Kakashi smiled, "We're almost at the Amegakure border. Time to set up camp."

Naruto frowned; he didn't think that they needed to stop. If they were close to their destination, would it not make more sense to just keep going? As he opened his mouth to point this out, Kakashi cut him off, "This way, when we reach our target, we'll be fully prepared and well rested. This also gives us time to go over our mission brief."

Naruto shut his mouth, successfully cowed.

It turned out that just before they had stopped, Kakashi had spotted an area of rock face which had been hollowed out by long-wearing elements. It was just deep enough to give sufficient cover from any unseen enemies as well as from the harsh climate which Amegakure was so well known for.

Setting up camp in this hollow had taken the group little over half an hour and now, as the dusk was approaching, the three man team was sitting around their make-shift fire.

Naruto gave their pitiful flame a rather dejected poke. He doubted that this fire would _ever_ be big enough to cook with. He sighed. To his left, Sakura sat plating and working at some herbs that she'd brought with on the mission. Across from Naruto, Kakashi was leaning back on the cave wall, flipping idly through his book. Naruto shifted restlessly, looking over at his sensei. Since Kakashi was the one who'd ordered camp, Naruto thought that it should be his job to provide some sort of distraction, _any_ sort of distraction, from this complete and utter _boredom_. After all, hadn't _he_ been the one to suggest that they go over strategy and briefings or something like that?

What was bugging him even more was the fact that Sakura seemed completely understanding and at ease with Kakashi's actions, while _he_ couldn't figure them out at all.

After a few more moments of silence, Naruto felt that he just couldn't take it any more.

"Kakashi-sensei!"

Kakashi looked up, "Hmm?"

"_Why_ are we just sitting around? Can we please _do_ something?" He gestured wildly at Kakashi, "_You're_ the one who made us stop. Can't we at least talk about the mission or whatever?"

For whatever reason, Kakashi was shaking his head and smiling like he'd said something funny- maybe he had- but this only served to make Naruto more agitated.

"What?" He shouted.

"Naruto! Shut up!" Sakura glared at him, her hands balled into fists.

"Huh? But Sakura-chan-"

"You idiot!" She hissed, "We can't just go talking about secure mission information when anyone could hear us!"

She leaned back and crossed her arms, "And now, thanks to _you,_ any ninja- no _anyone_ within five miles knows we're here!"

Naruto blanched, realizing that he hadn't really thought that far, choosing instead to only think about his own boredom. He chuckled, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly, "I uh…I didn't think about that."

"Of course you didn't. You never think do you Naruto?"

"What? Sakura-chan, that's not fair. I always-"

"Give me one example of a time that you actually _thought_something through, Naruto?"

Out the corner of his eye, Naruto could see Kakashi's head moving from side to side, watching their argument as one would watch a tennis match. After a few moment's, though, it seemed that Kakashi had had enough of their bickering.

"Naruto, Sakura."

They both looked at him.

"I think it's okay to go over the mission briefing now."

Naruto looked at the visible sliver of sky peeping through the rock's curve. He was surprised to see that it had already grown dark.

Kakashi settled back, tucking his book into his kunai pouch. It seemed that now that he'd gotten his teams' complete attention, he was in no hurry to relay the news. After a few more, agonizingly slow minutes (at least in Naruto's opinion), Kakashi turned to face them completely.

"Okay- so what do we know about the rouge ninja we're going to encounter?"

Sakura thought for a moment, "It's a group of ninja from different counties." She said slowly, "They're mainly lakies, but their leader is really powerful. His name is Watanabe Hajime. He's a very skilled Jonin and uses a lot of jutsu originating from Kirigakure no Sato but there aren't any records of him in their books that we know of."

Kakashi nodded his approval.

"Oh and…Also…" Naruto tried to remember when they'd been told, "Um… he uh…"

Kakashi filled in the gaps, "He has the Daimyo of Amegakure's founder country under his forced control."

"Yeah, that's right!" Naruto grinned, "And they don't wanna tell Amegakure, like, the ninja part of the village, because there's bad stuff going on between the two of them right?"

Kakashi smiled, "That's one way to put their confusing politics."

"So Sensei…" Sakura looked deep in thought, "If we're entering Amegakure's border without official consent, and the Daimyo is under Hajime's control… then…isn't this whole situation bigger than us?"

Kakashi nodded slowly, "You're right. If we don't go about this very, very carefully, we could easily start a war. Hanzo isn't known for his good will towards Konoha."

Naruto's eyes were wide, "A war? Then why didn't Konoha send more people?"

"Because, normally, their borders are very closely guarded and anything bigger than a three man cell would be noticed a mile away."

Sakura nodded, taking this in, "Then…Kakashi-sensei… why did Konoha even accept this mission? If it's risking a war then isn't this a bit reckless?"

Kakashi nodded again, "The thing is, Sakura, ties with Suna haven't been holding up too well lately, despite the Kazekage's best efforts. If Amegakure sides with Kirigakure, Konoha could be in a lot of trouble."

"And we think that Hajime is from Kirigakure, so…"

"Exactly Sakura."

Naruto frowned, slowly taking everything in. It was now apparent that their assassination mission of Hajime was a lot more important than it had first seemed.

"Everyone, try to get some sleep. I'll take first watch." Kakashi leaned back against the wall, his book back out of the pouch.

Naruto nodded, slipping under the covers of his sleeping bag. They had a big mission tomorrow, and he needed to rest well and eat a good meal. Naruto noted however, as he began to drift, that the thought of this mission left him without any appetite. And he had a feeling that it didn't all have to do with Hajime.

***0*0*0***

First watch, it turned out, was the only watch that evening. Naruto had discovered this upon getting up; Kakashi had been kneeling by the dying fire emptying handfuls of sand onto the glowing embers. When Naruto had asked why he hadn't woken him up, Kakashi had replied that he simply hadn't been tired and that it had seemed stupid for more than one person to loose sleep.

Naruto had deemed it pointless to argue and simply moved to wake up Sakura. After a quick breakfast and a few moments spent removing any traces of them having been in the area, they had set off through the overgrowth, continuing on their way to Amegakure. At the rush of movement, Naruto felt most of his previous tensions melting away and he grinned broadly. They were only hours away.

It didn't take their group very long to reach the border. Kakashi pressed a finger to his masked lips, signaling silence.

He crept forward until he was just in throwing rage of the guards stationed along the road.

Covering his mouth with his arm, he tossed out two poison smoke bombs. They worked quickly, and soon, all four guards were passed out, lying sprawled out on the dirt.

The three waited for a few moments, letting the poison settle and any unsuspecting reinforcements to appear. Nothing happened.

Kakashi nodded to Naruto and Sakura and they walked towards the unconscious guards.

"Naruto." Kakashi said softly, "We need another four guards."

"Huh? Oh! Right!" Naruto cleared his throat, shifting his stance, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

Another four Naruto's appeared immediately beside him. He glanced around where all four of his clones were holding the seal for henge; at the same moment, they all transformed. Now, instead of four Naruto's, there were the four Amegakure guards.

Kakashi nodded his approval, signaling for Sakura to help him tie up the others.

"Sensei…" Sakura murmured as she finished tightening the last knot on her captive's rope, "Why didn't you kill them like you…" _Like you normally would_, she finished in her mind.

Kakashi turned to her, "We're trying to prevent a war Sakura, remember? How would four dead ninja look?"

Sakura nodded; feeling slightly embarrassed that she hadn't realized this immediately.

"Okay." Kakashi said in a louder voice, "Lets move out."

Before entering the village, Kakashi instructed them to take off their head bands for the moment. Most of the civilians in the Daimyo's capital didn't know what sort of outfits Konoha ninja wore, but their head bands would be a dead give away, and they had to be inconspicuous until they met their client. While Amegakure itself was highly industrialized, this area of the country was fairly low-key, reminding the three Konoha ninja of their own village.

After about half an hour of wondering the village, scouting it out and searching for any thing that may help them against Hajime, Kakashi realized that they were getting quite close to the arranged meeting place.

He held up a hand to stop his team.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"We're almost there." He glanced around once before nodding at his team to follow him into a dingy looking side street. Naruto kept looking around; this place was darkened by larger building's shadows and felt way too deserted for Naruto's liking.

"Sensei…" He whispered, "What if this is an ambush."

Kakashi didn't speak for a moment, "Then we fight them off."

Naruto swallowed hard.

"Relax." Kakashi smiled, "Our client's a civilian after all. They all hate Hajime."

Naruto nodded.

After a few most twists and turns in the back allies, Kakashi finally stopped at a rather dilapidated looking house. He paused for a moment before knocking on the door.

Two knocks, one, two again, another three.

A few moments later, the door opened up a crack, "Yes?"

"Shimizu Fumio?"

"Yes…"

"We never arranged a password." Kakashi said pleasantly, "May we come in?"

There was a pause and then the sound of locks being undone could be heard. The door opened, "Sure."

They stepped into the dimly lit room. All the curtains had been drawn shut and not much light now entered the room.

As they made to take off their sandals, the man shooed them into the main house. "No time for that!" He hissed. He opened the door to another room and gestured for them to sit down.

They did so.

"Fumio-san," Kakashi started quietly, before the man had a chance to say anything, "I need you to explain the entire situation again to us. We need to know if we're missing anything."

The older man looked a little nervous, but regardless, he began to explain everything from the beginning, going over all of the details which the group had discussed the previous evening. He also added all the details of what Hajime was doing to the village at that moment.

"He has all of his men guarding the Daimyo's palace and no one goes in or comes out. A few of the royal guard tried breaking their defenses but it was useless. Nothing seems to work and they know all of our countries fighting defenses."

He looked over at Naruto and Sakura, "That's why the other villagers and I all contributed funds to hire Konoha Shinobi. You've dealt with ninja from all over before right? You guys can get rid of Hajime no Yaro for us!"

Kakashi nodded, "Of course we will." He made to stand, "Oh, one more thing."

The man paled, "If it's more payment you're asking for I don't have anything else. I paid your village already!"

"No, no, nothing like that. I just wanted to ask whether you have a picture of this guy."

The man shook his head fervently, "No."

"And a description?"

The man frowned, looking worried. Kakashi noted how his eyes kept darting around from window to window.

"It's okay- we won't let anyone know who it was that told us."

"No it's… Hajime has eyes everywhere. He'll know that I…he, oh Kami, he probably already knows that_I_ was the one that hired you."

He started shoving Kakashi out of his house, pushing at the Jonin's back, "Thank you, _thank you_. Now leave, please _please_ leave!"

Naruto saw the crease of Kakashi's brow and knew that the Jonin was frowning, he was either upset about their rude host or he'd noticed something that…

"Get down!"

Naruto obeyed the order without question, flinging himself to the floor. Beside him, he felt Sakura do the same.

Seconds later, the walls around them exploded with the sound of deafening thunder. Debris and flames rained down on them. Naruto covered his face, hunkering down as low as he could. From his spot on the floor, he heard Sakura let out a strangled shriek.

The debris were still falling with a vengeance and Naruto grunted as one particularly large chunk of wall slammed into his back.

He had no time to deal with the pain though.

"Naruto, Sakura! Get up!" Through the dust and flames, Naruto could see the figure of his sensei, standing among the falling debris. Beside him, Naruto could see another shape sprawled on the floor. He realized, with a sickening jolt, that it was Fumio.

He scrambled to his feet.

"Sakura! Get up!"

Naruto knew that Kakashi would not have sounded this urgent if they were not in serious danger. He glanced around for his teammate, "Sakura-chan?"

She was coughing and staggering to her feet. She clutched at her forehead with both hands, a substance streaming from between her fingers; dark, thick and wet. Naruto realized, a moment later, that is was blood.

"Sakura-Chan!" He rushed towards her, "Kakashi-sensei! Sakura-Chan's injured!"

"Idiot." He heard her mutter, "It's just a flesh wound. Head wound bleed a lot is all."

"If you guys are okay then get ready!"

"Sensei! What's going on?"

"Ambush."

Naruto slung Sakura's left arm over his shoulder, "Idiot…" She muttered, "I'm fine."

Naruto shook his head, "I don't care how bad it is. You're loosing blood Sakura-Chan, and even I know that cant be good."

"Naruto! It's an ambush. They could strike at any-"

_Clang!_

The sound of steel striking steel. Kakashi leaped from his spot beside Fumio and stood in front of his injured team mates.

"Naruto! Pay attention to the battle! Sakura is right. As long as she can still defend herself _you_ should be focusing on the fight!"

Naruto nodded. Now that the dust was settling, he could make out several figures just ahead of them. There were one, two, three, four, five, six, seven… Naruto stopped counting. There were at least twenty, he surmised, and most of them seemed to be holding weapons.

Gritting his teeth, Naruto brought his hands up in front of his face, "Kage Bushin no Jutsu!"

This was not going to be a fair fight.

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**What did you think?**


	2. Chapter 2

**Sharingan =**The Uchiha's Bloodline Limit Doujutsu

**Senbon =**A thin, needle like weapon

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Naruto was surprised. This fight was going in there favor despite their opponent's numbers. Naruto was glad and decided that these guys were definitely the lakies that Sakura had been talking about earlier. Naruto punched his opponent dead on in the face, finishing him off with a roundhouse kick. He landed besides Kakashi and glanced up at the taller man. His sensei had activated the sharingan and was taking out his opponents with practiced ease. Naruto had a moment's pause to admire the grace with which the Jonin fought, before going back to fighting his next foe.

"Kakashi-sensei." He called between breaths, "Do you think Hajime's here?"

Kakashi sliced through his opponent's chest, sending him tumbling to the ground, "No…." he looked around again. The numbers were thinning.

"Naruto! Kakashi-sensei! Behind you!"

Naruto and Kakashi spun around at the exact same moment. One of the men who they had thought to be dead was leaping through the air towards them, or more accurately, towards Kakashi. It was too late to dodge the attack and Kakashi took the offensive rout instead. He grabbed the man around his neck as they came into contact. The man swung around, grabbing onto Kakashi with one arm. With the other, he reached down and stabbed a senbon into Kakashi's neck

Kakashi grunted, flinging the man off him. His head landed with a sickening crack on one of the larger debris and he went limp.

Kakashi brought his hand up to his neck, yanking the needle out. He raised his fingers, glancing at the rivulets of blood on the tips. Grabbing two kunai from his pouch, he took out the remaining two attackers who had been advancing on him.

Naruto finished up with his as well.

From her place against the destroyed wall, Sakura adjusted her makeshift bandages. She touched her head gingerly, at least the blood with beginning to staunch. She focused a little more chakra to the area; relieved that now her team mates were safe and she could focus on healing the annoying wound.

Naruto rubbed his shoulder awkwardly, stumbling towards Sakura, "You okay?"

She grunted the affirmative.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

Kakashi was rubbing at his neck, "I'm fine Naruto."

"What about Fumio-san?"

Kakashi walked over, weaving between furniture and pieces of wall. He knelt down beside Fumio. Blood had begun pooling around his head and when Kakashi touched his neck to check for a pulse, his suspicions were confirmed.

He looked up at his team, shaking his head, "He's dead."

Blunt and to the point, thought Naruto bitterly, gritting his teeth.

"Hajime's gonna pay for this." He muttered.

Kakashi, having walked back to the group, nodded at Naruto's words, "He will pay Naruto, but right now, we have to alert someone of Fumio's death."

Sakura raised her head, one hand on her healing injury, "He might have family or something."

Kakashi nodded, "He was scared though. I doubt he had any relatives staying in this building."

Naruto shook his head, "And you'd think someone would have come running when the explosion happened don't you?"

Kakashi looked grim, "At least we know that Hajime was behind this then. The villagers seem to be scared of him. No one would want to interfere with his business."

Sakura smiled sadly, "Fumio-san was actually quite brave then wasn't he?"

There was silence for a few moments.

Eventually, Kakashi nodded, "Let's go then. Sakura, you alright to travel?"

She nodded.

"Okay, then let's get out of here."

Finding the local hospital hadn't been too difficult. Kakashi had simply snuck in and left a note of the head-nurse's desk, explaining that Shimizu Fumio had died earlier that day. It also told where to find him, but no other details, evidence or trace of who the letter was from.

Kakashi had left the building through the back side window and met up with his team from there. The two younger ninja had been almost too glad when he'd suggested that they set up camp for the rest of the day, as it was already getting quite late.

About half an hours walk from the village, they'd found a clearing between some rocks and think undergrowth. It was relatively protected and seemed a logical choice for base camp. Setting up had taken a little longer then last time, however, and the growth in their shady area proved too wet for burning. Naruto had volunteered, for once, to go in search of fire wood. After a few minutes of being cautioned and warned about what to do as well as what their password was, he'd left in his search.

At that particular moment, Sakura was washing out her bangs in one of the rivulets streaming down from the rocks. She'd complained that she couldn't stand smelling of blood anymore. The cut on her head was nearly healed due to her expertise and it turned out that it had truly been a flesh wound. Kakashi told her to rest though, as loosing that much blood was never a good thing.

Kakashi, himself, was sitting crossed legged against a tree, flipping through his book.

"Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm?"

"How long do you think Naruto's still going to be? It's already been ten minutes."

Kakashi smiled, "Mah, you know how Naruto is. I'm sure he's fine."

Sakura nodded but still looked unsure. Kakashi could feel her eyes on him and he looked up. Sakura was standing, her bangs still dripping water onto the forest floor, her eyes, however, were serious, and "I don't like this Sensei."

"Which part?"

'Everything. I don't know, I just have a bad feeling."

Kakashi sighed softly, "Then we'll proceed with caution. Thank you for alerting me Sakura, it's good if you can recognize your gut instincts." He smiled, "We'll be fine though. I'd never let anything happen to you and Naruto, remember?"

Sakura smiled at his words and went back to rinsing out her hair.

Kakashi however, stared at her back a moment longer. He had a bad feeling about this too. Flipping through another page in his book, he resolved to talk about it with Naruto the moment he got back.

***0*0*0***

"Sensei, are you feeling okay?"

Kakashi looked up at Sakura, watching her sway in and out of focus. No, actually, he wasn't really. The feeling had come on rather suddenly. One minute he'd felt perfectly fine, and the next, well, not so much.

"I think I'm just a bit tired…" He muttered, "Can the two of you maybe take first and second watch?"

Naruto nodded wordlessly.

Kakashi crawled into his sleeping bag, pulling the fabric as high as it could go. He shivered for what felt like the hundredth time in the last hour. He felt cold and sweaty and his neck, at the point where the needle had entered, was itching like crazy.

He rubbed at the spot, glancing over at Sakura. She was grumbling about something and glaring at Naruto. He smiled. No; he wouldn't bother her with this. He doubted it was anything serious; more than likely, he'd caught a very mild infection by not bandaging the small wound up. Also, he _had_ taken the full watch yesterday; so of course he wasn't feeling one hundred percent.

Snuggling down under the covers, he decided to get as much sleep as he possibly could. When the next day came- he wanted to be ready to complete this mission and defend his team, like he'd been unable to do that day.

He refused to let them get hurt again. With that thought in mind, Kakashi drifted off to sleep.

***0*0*0***

Sakura looked over at the sleeping form of their sensei. Since he'd gone to bed almost an hour previously, he had been restless and agitated in his sleep. She watched as he moved the covers off him, then turned over. He ran one hand through his tangled hair and gave a deep sigh.

Sakura was getting extremely concerned. Aside from the fact that Kakashi was a very light sleeper, he was also usually very still when he slept. At a glance it would seem that it was Naruto under the covers and not the older Jonin.

"Naruto…" She muttered.

The blond turned to her, a piece of energy bar sticking out of his mouth. Sakura resisted the urge to roll her eyes, silently contemplating whether it was worth telling him. As much as she didn't want to worry the blond, if there was something wrong with their team leader, then Naruto needed to know if worst came to worst.

"I think there's more wrong with Kakashi-sensei than he'd letting on."

"Huh?" Naruto swallowed the last of his food, "Why would you say that Sakura-chan?"

"Sensei's never this restless when he sleeps. Also, he asked us to take up the two first watches. He _never_ does that."

Naruto shrugged, "Maybe he's just tired."

Kakashi chose that moment to let out a soft, almost inaudible groan. A lot of people wouldn't have even heard it, but Sakura and Naruto did. They shared a look.

Naruto shrugged, "Maybe you're right." He was now looking concerned.

The two young ninja crept towards Kakashi, stopping when they were right next to him. Sakura carefully lifted part of the covers to get a better look at Kakashi's condition and her worry nearly doubled when she saw what state he was in.

Kakashi was shivering violently, drenched in a cold sweat. His hair was matted and sticking to his face with the heat. His throat worked harder than normal to get air in, and Sakura could see that he was struggling for breath.

"Naruto, this is a lot more serious than I though." She turned to her blond team mate, "Go fetch me some water and strips of cloth. Now."

Naruto didn't hesitate to do as he was told, running over to their supplies.

"Sensei…. What made you so sick?" She muttered to herself.

She brushed aside his hair with her hands, resting her cool flesh against his forehead. She felt him sigh, unconsciously leaning towards her cool touch. She took one hand away, slipping her fingers against the side of his neck. Her hand stopped when she felt something though the material of his mask, a large, swollen lump at the base of his neck.

Swallowing hard, she knew she'd found her answer.

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**I'd like to thanks each of my valuable reviews. You make my day.**

**What did you think?**


	3. Chapter 3

**D** a m a g e

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"Sakura-chan, are these okay?"

Sakura looked up to see Naruto standing over her, strips of fabric draped over his arm and a bowl of water in his hands.

She nodded gratefully, taking the bowl from him, "Yeah, thanks."

Sakura turned back to where Kakashi lay, pressing her hand to his forehead and brushing the silver hair out of his face. Dipping a strip of cloth into the water, she placed it gently across his head.

Kakashi gave a deep sigh, but other than that he still seemed to be unconscious, a fact that was deeply worrying to Sakura. Almost every time she'd seen her teacher ill or injured (which, she conceded, was not very often) he'd been a quick recovery. Fast to heal and even faster to wake up.

"Sakura-chan…" Naruto dropped down beside her, "Do you know what's wrong with him?"

Sakura shook her head slowly, "Not exactly…." She hesitated, "… I have a very good idea though." Reaching over she began to rummage through her medical kit, eventually producing a thin, sharp-looking scalpel.

After giving the tool a once-over, she set to work. Naruto watched from the side, growing visibly uneasy (eyes glued to the sharp tool in Sakura's hands) as she zipped down Kakashi's vest and shirt, pushing them aside so that the fabric hung off his shoulders. She braced a hand against the Jonin, teasing the material of his under vest till the area around his neck was pulled up between her fingertips.

As she raised the scalpel, Naruto's resolve cracked, "Sakura-chan, what are you doing?"

Sakura said nothing and proceeded to slice through the fabric between her fingers, creating a large hole in his vest.

"I'm checking for the entry point." She replied, eyes never leaving her work.

"Entry point?"

"My guess is he's been poisoned…" She pulled at the fabric some more, "I felt something earlier on…" She moved her hand down to the opening, fingers ghosting across his skin.

"Kami…" He heard her mutter.

"What?" Naruto could feel himself getting antsy at all Sakura's secrecy, "What is it Sakura-chan?"

Sakura looked up at him, a smile on her face, "Nothing Naruto, it's nothing really."

"But what's wrong with Kakashi-sensei?"

"Naruto could you boil some water for me?"

"Water?" Naruto frowned at Sakura's sudden change of subject.

"Yes water, please, Naruto." Sakura was still smiling, and for some reason, instead of it reassuring him, the smile made him feel more uneasy.

He paused, still looking a bit confused, but turned towards their equipment, "I'll be done now Sakura-chan."

Sakura watched, waiting till the blond was a way away before she turned back to Kakashi. Naruto couldn't know the serious yet, especially when her herself wasn't one hundred percent sure. She touched the area around the man's neck, tenderly examining the lump which had formed there. It was the size of a small egg, red, swollen and inflamed. She frowned, trying to think back to when Kakashi could have been poisoned. The only logical explanation was during the battle, when she was pre-occupied with her wound and the few lakies that had decided to attack her.

Whatever the case, Sakura decided that it wasn't really important. It had to have happened within the last day, she reasoned, she knew no other poisons that could act slower, with these effects. Sakura felt a knot tighten in her stomach, she already had no idea what could have brought this on. It fit no criteria, both man made, or from insects and snakes. Most poisons with effects like this; the cold sweats, heavy sleep, disorientation (Sakura was just going out on a limb with this one) all had very fast acting, if not immediate, effects. This one however, had taken hours to work. Sakura had never encountered a poison like this in Konoha before. She wondered idly, as she checked the temperature of his forehead again, if Kakashi had noticed the symptoms. He had mentioned feeling tired and a little bit off, but if a jonin like him had'nt realized the symptoms in his own body, for what they were, then Sakura had to wonder what she was up against. Though she knew through experience that Kakashi could be very negligent as well as stubborn when it came to his own health, she felt confident that the man would never do anything to endanger them or the mission.

She wrung out another strip of cloth and replaced the one on Kakashi's forehead.

"Kakashi-sensei." She said, speaking in a loud, clear tone in an attempt to rouse him, "Sensei, it's time to wake up."

Leaning over, she tapped his masked cheek.

Nothing.

She tapped him harder, "Kakashi-sensei!"

The man let out a low groan, slowly blinking open his eyes. He looked at Sakura, but somehow his gaze seemed to by-pass her and look somewhere into the distance.

His eyes were too bright, she noted immediately, as his pupils were dilated.

"Sensei- are you awake?"

Kakashi blinked a few more times. After a few moments, his gaze cleared somewhat and he focused his eyes on Sakura.

"Sensei? How are you feeling?"

"Honestly?" He muttered, his voice hoarse and cracked, "Like crap."

Sakura smiled slightly, "Did something happen earlier- maybe during the fight or while we were in the forest? Were you bitten by something or hit by anything."

Kakashi was silent for a moment, taking much longer to answer than he normally would. Sakura noted this as well, convinced that it was the poison's effects.

After a moment, Kakashi nodded slowly, "During the fight some guy hit me with his senbon" He raised his hand slowly to touch his neck, wincing as the sore spot was aggravated.

Sakura nodded, looking grim, "I thought it was something like that."

Kakashi shut his eyes.

"Sensei? Kakashi-sensei, you still awake?"

"Yeah…." He muttered, "Just thinking how much of an idiot I am to not notice it sooner."

"Sensei, this poison doesn't seem to work like normal poison. How is…" She paused, trying to think of the best way to phrase her question, "What exactly were you feeling earlier and what do you feel like now?"

Kakashi didn't say anything for a while, "I felt tired…" He said eventually, "Tired and sore…Nothing else really…"

"Okay, and what about now?"

Kakashi opened his eyes, "I don't really know how to say this…" He paused for a moment, stretching his body, "Well…I suppose…my back hurts. Actually, everywhere hurts, but my lower back especially." He frowned, looking at Sakura, who seemed to be getting the message.

She bit her lip, "Kakashi-sensei… that's bad."

He nodded, "I know."

"Anything else?"

"My muscles feel like I've just been training with Gai- if that helps."

Sakura fought down the urge to smile, "Okay. So they hurt right? And feel a little bit weaker than normal?"

He nodded.

"Could be Amatoxin…" She muttered more to herself than to Kakashi, "It would explain a lot. But something just isn't making sense…"

He looked back at Kakashi, "You just need to drink something." She instructed, "Then you should rest for a while while I figure things out."

Kakashi sighed and leaned his head back, "That won't be a problem."

Sakura got up, "I'll be right back. I've just got to go fetch Naruto." The blond had gone much further than Sakura had thought was strictly needed to boil the water. Looking for more twigs and logs for their dying fire, she supposed.

Glancing back once more at Kakashi, she walked out of the clearing. Kakashi wasn't arguing about sleeping, or about staying still and resting. It was Kakashi- he always had something to say because apparently he was always fine even when passing out from chakra exhaustion. And his kidneys… Sakura grimaced, she had to find Naruto fast so that she could work on diagnosing the poison, compiling the ingredients and finding the antidote.

"Naruto!" She called out, then flushing at her negligence, called out in a softer whisper, "Naruto…."

"Sakura-chan! Over here!"

She winced at the loud shout from ahead, "Coming." She whispered. Some ninja they were.

She found Naruto kneeling over a fire with a pot perched on top, boiling the water, "Hey Sakura-chan!"

"Naruto…why did you come out this far?"

Naruto grinned, "It's the perfect place to perfect to hide the smoke and steam!" He pointed upwards at the thick, green canopy.

Sakura bit her lip. She hadn't thought about that. She could understand Kakashi's negligence but her? What excuse did she have for forgetting something that even Naruto could remember.

Even so, she forced a smile, "Good thinking Naruto." She cleared her throat, "Anyway I just came to tell you that Kakashi-sensei woke up."

"Really?" Naruto leaped to his feet, "How is he?"

"He's… he's okay Naruto. I just need a little time to work on the antidote and then he'll be fine."

Naruto visibly relaxed, "Good. What stuff do you need?"

"Huh?"

"For the antidote?"

"Oh…uh, I'm still working on figuring it all out. It will be easy though." She clung to the hope that Naruto couldn't see through her lies. They weren't that major- she reasoned- she just couldn't afford to worry him- someone had to keep their head after all.

"Ah- that's okay. You're smart with that stuff Sakura-chan."

Sakura nodded, keeping watch on the water in the pot. She was good at this stuff was she? Well then how come she couldn't seem to identify the poison. With the options of blood test's gone, she had to rely on her knowledge alone- unfortunately, no poisons seemed to exactly meet Kakashi's symptoms. Without knowing the poison, she couldn't know what was going to happen to Kakashi, or how long it would take, or the antidote or how bad this was. On top of that her mind was split in two, worrying about Kakashi and worrying about the mission. Sakura frowned- the answer to everything was the poison, so what was it?

After a few moments of silence and Sakura's contemplation, Naruto turned to her, "Hey, Sakura-chan, what's gonna hap-"

"Shhh."

"Sakura-chan?"

"I heard something."

Sakura knew that she had. The first time the sound has been soft, barely noticeable. The second time however, it was loud enough to hear a way away. To Sakura it sounded like something she usually heard in the medical word- the sound of a ninja, hardened and tough and proud, trying to stifle their grunts of pain. And it was coming from the direction of the clearing

She looked at Naruto and he looked at her, "Naruto- bring the water with. Kill the fire."

* * *

**To those who reviewed the last chapter- thank you guys so much.**

**Also, a thank you to**Obliterate-the-kings-legion**for her input on this chapter****.**

**What did you think?**


	4. Chapter 4

**D **a m a g e

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It was progressing too fast, Sakura panicked. Much, much too fast. From the moment that she and Naruto had come sprinting into the clearing, she had been able to tell that Kakashi was getting worse much too quickly.

In the dim lighting of the clearing, Sakura knelt at Kakashi side, laying a gentle hand on his forehead. Still burning up, she frowned, actually, he was much warmer than before, he had to cool down soon.

Sakura slid her hands to his neck, concentrating her healing chakra to the area. She had to draw out the poison, just like she had when she had worked with Kankuro's illness. In her minds eye, she saw the droplets of poison rushing to the small hole in his skin, seeing the drops gather until they were all at that spot. Next came the task of drawing them out. Concentrate, concentrate.

A poison resistant to Medical Chakra of this magnitude? Was that even possible. She tried harder, completely absorbed in the task- but oblivious to the man beneath her.

Kakashi let out a low groan, shuddering hard. He arched his back, letting out a low hiss. "Kakashi-sensei." Sakura abandoned her task and pressed her hands against his shoulders, forcing him back to the ground, "Naruto!" Sakura glanced back at the fire for her teammate.

Kakashi was straining against her hold, eyes bleary and unfocused. His nerves were bunched hard beneath her fingers and it was all she could do to keep him still without hurting him further.

"Sakura-chan, what is it?" Naruto came running, water long forgotten.

"Naruto- hold him down!"

Naruto hesitated.

"Naruto!"

Slowly, Naruto knelt behind Kakashi, wrapping his arms around him in a vise and pinning him firmly against his chest.

The jonin squirmed against the hold, hissing quietly. Sweat trickled down the exposed area of his face, the salty liquid soaking his mask. He was breathing hard, shuddering in Naruto's grip.

"Naruto- I'll be right back."

Naruto tightened his grip as Sakura left to fetch the water, "Kakashi-sensei." He muttered as the Jonin strained harder against him, "Sensei, just stay still!"

The man grunted in response, vacant and strained, and Naruto got the sick, sick feeling that the Kakashi he knew wasn't really present at the moment. He believed, no he knew, that his teacher was strong and could take pain that would have most others in a screaming fit. He had discipline and self control, and if he knew what he was doing at that moment, fighting treatment and making things so much harder for them, the jonin would probably never believe it of himself. Was that why Sakura had sounded so worried? Because she didn't know what the man would do?

"Kakashi-sensei…" he spoke low, "Sensei, can you hear me?"

He got no response.

Confirmed then, Naruto sighed, looking up. Sakura was back now, kneeling beside him again. She had the left over strips of cloths from earlier in her hands as well as the water Naruto had been boiling. Reaching into her pouch, Naruto saw that she also had a kunai.

"Naruto, have you got him?" She whispered

He nodded grimly.

"I hoped I wouldn't have to do this." She touched the swollen mark on his neck. It had now turned a purpling black colour.

Naruto couldn't hide his gasp, "Sakura-chan….what the..? It wasn't like this earlier was it?"

She shook her head grimly. "All the poison is concentrated there now." She was inwardly thanking the heavens that she had not tried to draw it out near his vital organs.

"But how? Sakura-chan, how advanced is this stuff?"

Sakura shook her head again, ignoring his question. Of course he wouldn't realize her mistake, she breathed easier, he wasn't a medic ninja after all.

"Just make sure you have a tight hold on him." She said softly

Sakura dipped the kunai in the boiling water. She leaned forward; one hand gripped the side of Kakashi's head, pushing it to the side. With the other hand, she made a clean, straight incision against the infected area.

The motion caused Kakashi to jerk roughly, a grunt escaping his lips.

"Sorry…" She muttered under her breath.

Pressing the blade hard against the side of the area, Sakura began forcing the blood, infection and poison out through the incision.

Kakashi hissed again and strained against Naruto. The younger ninja just gripped him tighter, mouth set in a grim line.

Sakura kept going, strange colored liquids sliding across her hands and all over Kakashi's vest. Her eyes remained hard, remained sharp. When one was playing the medic, she repeated to herself, one could not have emotions for the one they were treating. He was just another patient, not the man who had taught her and watched over her for the better part of her Genin life, and now watched over her in her Chunin career as well. She did not care that he was in pain, as long as he lived. His grunts of agony were not relevant to her job. She didn't care.

These were the lies she was forced to keep telling herself so that she could save him.

Because she _would _save him

The minutes it took to cleanse the poison felt like an eternity for both Sakura and Naruto. When she was finally finished, the area was cleansed, and bandaged, all the gathered poison removed. Naruto still held Kakashi just as tightly, but by now the man had stopped struggling and was hanging limp in his grip. His hear was mattered sticking against his forehead in matted clumps.

The Jonin gave a shudder, mumbled something that neither of his teammates could hear.

"Kakashi-sensei…?"

"Naruto…" He muttered softly, just loud enough for them to hear, "I'm going to be sick…"

He fell from Naruto's grip onto his hands and knees on the floor. Kakashi yanked down his mask, leaned over into the sand, and retched.

Naruto and Sakura exchanged a look and Naruto, after a nod from Sakura, took careful hold of Kakashi's shoulders. Sakura knelt beside him and gently lifted his land hair out of his face.

The man kept up the torturous gasping and retching until it was obvious that there was nothing more to bring up. When that happened, Naruto supported that man when collapsed against his hands.

They pushed him back against his bed roll and Kakashi accepted their help, wiping his mouth with the back on his hand, and tugging his mask back into place.

"Sorry…" He muttered, closing his eyes, "'s an idiot…"

***0*0*0*0***

It was bothering him. It was _bothering_ him that someone could get this sick. Not just anyone, but someone that he cared about. And worse from all of that- was this man was suppose to be untouchable. He wasn't suppose to get sick _ever_, he wasn't suppose to give in when he was wracked with pain and doped up on poison. He was suppose to be immune. He was suppose to be, as much as Naruto hated to admit it, the one who protected _them_, but_never_ the other way around.

He was _never_ suppose to be this vulnerable.

And it _bothered_ Naruto. It bothered Naruto more than he would say.

"Are you even listening to me Naruto?"

Naruto blinked, looking up at Sakura's face.

"Huh?"

She sighed and returned to poking at the fire, "We may need to find Hajime…"

"What?" Naruto frowned, "How can you be thinking of the mission when Kakashi-sensei is sick?"

"We're ninja, Naruto, the mission is important, remember? This entire village is relying on us to liberate it."

"Comrades come first Sakura-chan."

Sakura scowled at him, "Don't you think I know that?" She sighed, "We have to complete our mission, Naruto, with or without Kakashi-sensei."

She held up a hand to stop Naruto from interrupting, "While we're destroying his base, we may be able to find the cure for the poison."

Naruto looked hard at her, "Okay Sakura-chan… I trust you…. But I thought you'd already figured out what was wrong with him."

Sakura nodded slowly, "It seems to be that it's a simple hybrid combination of a Conium, Amatoxin, possibly, and a very crude use of Hemlock…."

Naruto looked extremely confused.

"Simply put…" She sighed, "The poison is eating away at his muscles, messing with his mind and his nerve system. Earlier… he wasn't acting himself."

Naruto nodded in agreement.

"That was probably the Amatoxin, messing with his perceptions. He probably doesn't remember much of it at all."

"Not remember?"

She nodded, "That's right. He'll be suffering from hypovolemia soon. As soon as he wakes he needs fluids." She sighed again, "The thing is, his fluid balance systems and osmotic balance systems would normally correct this, but his kidneys and liver are also being damaged by the poison. His heart will be affected, making it more vulnerable than normal to the hemlock's effects."

"Sakura-chan, what does that mean?"

"It means Kakashi-sensei has maybe… 3 days left, maybe less. I don't know much about this poison." She sighed, "Earlier on, I couldn't even draw it out, so there must be a very strong chakra element that I have no knowledge of…we would need their antidote, or at least one of them to make it- since they created the poison."

Naruto nodded, "Sakura-chan…you tried to draw it out?"

She nodded tersely.

"So, I don't really know much about medic jutsu but, don't you collect all the poison to one area or something?"

She nodded once again.

"So was that why you had to remove the poison like _that_ earlier."

Another nod.

"Oh. Okay." He smiles, but Sakura can hear the hint of accusation in his voice.

She smiles back, "Naruto, why don't I take first watch" She looks at the darkening sky, "We can work on the strategy tomorrow."

He nods, "Goodnight Sakura-chan."

Long after he goes to bed, Sakura is still staring into the flames, trying to ignore the licks of guilt at her heart and wondering how her team will get itself out of the tangle of lies it's worked itself into, wondering if they will succeed in the mission, but most of all, wondering if Kakashi will survive this.

***0*0*0*0***

"What do we know about Hajime's base and stuff Sakura-chan?"

Sakura bit her lip, staring out above the trees still bathed in early morning light, "Not much." She finally conceded.

"That helps…" Naruto grumbled, "Since we know nothing anyway, can't we just go?"

Sakura shook her head, "We need a plan."

"Sakura-chan, what's going to happen to Kakashi-sensei?"

"Hmm?"

"I mean, he's sick, but both of us need to go on the mission right?"

He brought up a valid point, "I don't know." She slowly pushed herself to her feet, "Naruto can you handle breakfast? I need to check on him."

Naruto nodded, "Yep, Sakura-chan."

When Sakura sat beside Kakashi, she was pleased to see that he appeared to be sleeping peacefully for once; it seemed a pity to wake him. She lightly tapped his arm, "Kakashi-sensei?"

When she got no response, Sakura shook him a bit harder.

After a moment Kakashi slowly opened his eyes. He stared at her for a moment, saying nothing and studying her with his unfocused gaze.

"Kakashi-"

"'m sorry…" he croaked

Sakura frowned, "For what?"

"Rin…'m sorry…" He took in a shuddering breath, "'m sorry it was him 'nd…'nd not me…"

"Kakashi-sensei, it's me, Sakura, remember…?" She gently touched his arm.

Kakashi blinked at her a few times, his unfocused gaze clearing a bit, "Sakura?"

"That's right."

"'m sorry…. I was just a …just a…bit confused Sakura…Sakura"

Sakura swallowed the sick feeling in the pit of her stomach, "That's okay. How are you feeling?"

"Not so good…" He mumbled

She sighed in sympathy, "Well…you feeling more coherent Kakashi-sensei?"

"Yeah…" his mumbled tone was anything but reassuring to Sakura but she did her best to smile.

"Well, me and Naruto need to get you the antidote. Will you be okay on your own?"

He nodded slowly, "Where are you… getting the antidote?" It seemed to be a great effort to form his sentences now, but he made a point to do so anyway.

"In the forest, plants and roots, you know."

Kakashi looked at her and the smile still plastered onto her face, "Sakura…" He said slowly, "I may be sick, barely… barely with it at times but… but I'm not stupid." He paused to take breath, "It's with Hajime…isn't it?"

"What? Sensei why would you say that?"

"Who… gave me… the poison Sakura?"

She said nothing as her eyes met his bloodshot ones.

"I don't think…just… leave the mission….leave the antidote." He coughed weakly, "It's not worth it…not worth your lives…"

Sakura frowned at the implications, "Kakashi-sensei, we're going to finish the mission and find you the antidote." She said firmly, "And your going to drink something and keep resting, you got that?"

Kakashi muttered something she couldn't quite catch.

"What did you say sensei?"

He chuckled softly, "Nothing. I just said I've…got it …Sakura."

"Okay, I'll be back now. Try not to fall asleep just yet."

"Sakura..."

She leaned closer.

"Remember the mission, Sakura."

And from the little part of his face that she could see, Sakura knew exactly what Kakashi meant.

***0*0*0*0***

**0*0**

"Sakura, do you think this is okay?"

Sakura glanced at the blond as they ran side by side through the remaining stretch of forest.

"Is what okay?" She asked, even though she didn't really need him to answer, she already knew from asking herself the same thing over and over

"Leaving Kakashi-sensei."

"With all the Genjutsu barriers and traps around the area- he should be fine…right now we need to focus on the mission." Sakura pushed off ahead of Naruto, "He'll be fine." She repeated over her shoulder.

Naruto nodded, "I hope so."

* * *

**Hemlock:**This causes a gradual weakening of the muscles and intense pain as the muscles deteriorate and die. Though sight might be lost, the mind remains clear until death occurs. Symptoms begin in thirty minutes, though it takes several hours to die.

**Amatoxin:** A deadly poison extracted from certain types of mushrooms, Amatoxin attacks your helpless liver and kidneys. Hallucinations and delusions can occur in certain types and variations. This last for a few days. One then falls into a coma from which you never wake up.

* * *

**A hybrid of these probably doesn't exist- but for the purposes of the story, please bare with me. I am by no means knowledgeable on the subject of poisons.**

**What did you think?**


	5. Chapter 5

**D **a m a g e

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"Naruto, you ready?"

From his place behind the wall, the blond looked over at Sakura and nodded, "Good to go."

Sakura nodded, slipping her hand into her kunai pouch, "When I give the signal…"

"Got it."

Sakura tossed the pellets into her hand, giving a brief, fleeting smile in Naruto's direction; then she was gone, scaling down the low-rise building and into the darkness below. Naruto heard the hissing sound of gas being released and the muffled shouts and sharp thuds of a well organized fight. After a few moments of nothing, no voices and no footsteps, Naruto's resolve to keep out of things broke and he leaned over the edge of the building.

"Get down here Naruto!"

Nearly tumbling off the roof in surprise, Naruto thought it wise to obey Sakura's hissed command, and he himself scaled the building.

"Sakura-chan, is it all clear?"

"Of course it is Naruto-_kun_." That voice, deep and gravely like the stones crunching under his feet. Male, that much was certain. In the dim light of the half moon, Naruto saw them. There were about three men standing there. One large man, dressed in nothing but green slacks and a ripped up Suna vest, had his arm around Sakura, a kunai pressed tight against her throat. Naruto noted, with much uneasy feelings, that it looked just as sharp as any one of Tenten's many weapons. Glinting and dangerous and deadly.

He held up his hands, just as he knew he was suppose to, looking at the ground. _One, two, three, four_… five men down. Sakura had done a good job. He allowed one of the men to take his wrists, pinning them behind his back and wrapping them with a rather course sort of rope.

He noticed, rather thankfully, that they had not bothered to even break his fingers. For ninja, that was a very careless thing to do and he wondered how trained these men actually were. He wasn't complaining though; having fingers broken would have made his job a lot more unpleasant.

After being pat down for any obvious weapons, he was shoved hard in the back "Move."

He did as instructed. Both him and Sakura were pushed along the inner walls of the palace gardens, through the otherwise impenetrable maze. Many people, both hapless peddlers and trained Shinobi had been rumored to get lost in it. It wasn't surprising, after all, it was a well know fact that there was a trick to getting to the main house. The daimyo of Amegakure's was a rather paranoid person. Hajime must have found a way around the security, whether as a body guard or just an important visitor. Naruto found himself inwardly wishing that Fumio had given them more answers before he'd died.

He glanced at Sakura and there gaze met. She nodded, almost unperceivable, but Naruto caught it. He caught the triumphant glow in her eyes reserved only for special occasions and he had to duck his head to hide the grin forming on his face.

Perfect.

They were led through the last few turns of the labyrinth until they reached a gate. It was not what Naruto had expected at all- a large magnificent gate worthy of a daimyo, like the one out side of the garden walls. This gate was a small, picket fence gate, unpainted and overgrown with creepers and other plants and moss. Though Naruto wasn't surprised at the mossy dampness that surrounded it as the whole area was shaded in by the towering maze walls.

The man in the Suna vest- he seemed to be the leader- shoved him through the gate and Sakura stumbled through soon after him.

Pushing his way through the over grown bushes and undergrowth, Naruto spared a moment to simply marvel at the sheer enormity of the main house. Or palace, Naruto mused, that would be _much_ more fitting, with several stories and men guarding the walls and entrances. Each wore a different vest of sort and an array of foreign headbands, all with slashes across their symbols.

The rouge ninja, he surmised. It would have been tough to get past all of them, not to mention the ruckus that it would have caused would be enough to call out Hajime himself.

This was definitely working better.

Naruto glanced over at Sakura as they were pushed through the main entrance. She nodded.

"Uh… mister?" Sakura was looking up at the Suna ninja now, eyes wide.

He grunted, glancing at her.

She took it as an invitation to continue, "Mister…this place is really, really big! It must be an honor to work here."

He looked confused, but none the less, his chest swelled at her words, "Uh, yes, yes of course it is. Only the truly amazing have the opportunity to work under Hajime-sama."

_Loyal henchman, not too smart, easy defenses, was probably still a new Chunin when he defected._ Naruto looked back at the others and then at Sakura.

She flashed a quick smirk at Naruto, "Well, where are we going…Uh, what did you say your name was?"

"Atsushi." He grinned, "But you can call me Atsushi-sama, little lady."

"Of course Atshushi-sama!" Sakura practically gushed, smiling up at the man.

_Did this guy honestly not realize he was being played?_ Naruto wondered with amazement, Sakura wasn't exactly being subtle after all, and he was aware of her being a ninja, considering they both had their headbands on. _Was the man really this thick?_

Before he could ponder the fact any more, they had rounded the corner. No one seemed to be around and Naruto decided there and then that this was their best chance. He threw a look at Sakura, who in return, nodded her understanding.

"Say…Atshushi-sama." She giggled, "Come here I want to ask you something."

Grinning, he leaned closer to her, where she could whisper the words in his ear. She leaned as close as she could, and breathed, "_Are all Hajime's lakies this… easy?_"

She wasted no time slamming her knee into the sensitive area between his legs, finishing it off with a head-butt straight between the eyes.

Atshushi gasped and stumbled, ultimately collapsing with what Naruto could only assume was bewilderment. Naruto of course, didn't waste the opportunity. From where his hands were bound, he pulled out one of his better-concealed kunai. "Sakura-chan!"

She twisted swiftly allowing Naruto to slice through her bonds.

By this time, the other two men had recovered from their shock and were charging at them head on.

"Sakura-chan!"

"I got it!"

The seals came easily to her practiced fingers, and it was over all too quickly, with both men sprawled on the ground, caught in the web of her Genjutsu.

Atshushi, still clutching at his crotch, had barely managed three steps towards them before Naruto slammed a fist into his jaw. Sakura could have sworn that she heard a crack.

"Jerk…" Naruto muttered.

He looked back at Sakura's knowing face, "What? Let's just move these guys so we can go already."

It didn't take more than a few moments to find an alcove that they could safely deposit the men in. Sakura took the time to bind them while Naruto stood watch. When she was finished, she set up a makeshift Genjutsu barrier and they were ready to go.

"Sakura-chan, which way now?"

Sakura glanced over her shoulder, never breaking stride, "We go until we find someone who knows this place. Maybe a weaker ninja or a servant, if there are any around."

_If any are still alive_. Naruto thought grimly. _If any are still alive._

So far, no one had spotted them yet, and for that Naruto was grateful. From his place behind Sakura, he made note to keep watching his back and not for the first time, he wished that Kakashi was on this mission with them, instead of dying in a dark forest. He shuddered.

"Sakura-chan. What are we doing first?" He muttered, "Killing Hajime, or getting the antidote for Kakashi-sensei?"

Sakura was silent. After letting it ride for a few seconds, Naruto cleared his throat.

Sakura still didn't turn around but from her lips came the words that Naruto never, _ever_wanted to hear, "We get Hajime."

Swallowing the lump in his throat, he nodded, but then realized that she wasn't looking his way and he murmured, "I thought you'd say that."

_Fist the lies_, Naruto mused, turning another corner, and now she was going back on everything that they'd been taught, everything they'd always followed through with. As a team.

A team that included Kakashi. And Sakura was fine with just letting him die.

He clenched his fists, trying to push aside the annoying, growing ach that burned a hole through his chest. Those who disobeyed the rules were known as trash, but those who abandoned their comrades were worse than trash.

So what exactly did that make them? A worthless team made up of trash and scum. A worthless team with people to protect.

"Sakura-chan, we should split up."

"What?"

"You go and look for the antidote and I'll go find Hajime. If I know where he is, it will be easier for us to kill him later on." He explained, "Besides, the sooner we have the antidote, the easier it will be to escape later on."

Reluctantly Sakura nodded, still not looking at him, "And I'm the medic so I have to get the antidote."

"Right."

"Okay. I'll take the next corridor, you keep going."

She glanced back over her shoulder, "Good luck… Naruto."

He nodded, "You too." And then she was gone- turned that corridor and leaped out of sight.

Now the rest was up to him, and a girl he felt he could no longer trust.

_Do your best, Sakura-chan._

***0*0*0***

At the turn of the second corridor, Sakura slowed down into an easy step. After a few seconds of silence, she stopped and turned. Without another thought, she sprinted back up the corridor she'd just come from.

She had to catch up with Naruto, there was no way he'd be able to beat Hajime on his own, and then she'd be left with two dead team mates and a failed mission. The village would continue to be enslaved and a war would break out with Konoha directly involved. Too much rested on this mission for her to just screw this up for her own selfish bonds.

When Hajime was dead, she would get the antidote. She refused to let all these people continue to suffer and let Naruto die, just for her own selfishness at wanting to keep one man alive. Her only comfort came in the form of the knowledge that her teacher agreed with her decision and had in no small way, instigated it. It's what he wanted.

She bowed her head deeply as she ran.

_Kakashi-sensei…forgive me._

* * *

**What did you think?**


	6. Chapter 6

**D** a m a g e

* * *

_We pass and leave you lying. No need for rhetoric, for funeral music, for melancholy bugle-calls. No need for tears now, no need for regret._

_We took our risk with you; you died and we live. We take your noble gift, salute for the last time those lines of pitiable crosses, those solitary mounds, those unknown graves, and turn to live our lives out as we may._

_Which of us were fortunate - who can tell? For you there is silence and cold twilight drooping in awful desolation over those motionless lands. For us sunlight and the sound of women's voices, song and hope and laughter, despair, gaiety, love - life._

_Lost terrible silent comrades, we, who might have died, salute you._

_**~Richard Aldington**_

_**

* * *

**_

"Sakura, what the hell are you doing here?" Naruto was breathing heavily, a gash on his arm bleeding, soaking his jacket, "I told you to get the antidote."

"Later!" Sakura had no time for Naruto, not now. The guilt that had clawed at her insides was now scratching at her throat, bubbling over into her voice. That wasn't right. Ninja were not suppose to show emotion. _She_ was not suppose to show emotion.

Naruto snarled, throwing his useless, bloodstained jacket to the ground, "Fine."

The fight was starting to get heavy. Hajime and his lakies were making their best effort and even though they were only five minutes in, it was starting to take it's toll on the two younger ninjas.

Perspiration clung to Sakura's body in awkward, hot patches. But she couldn't stop. She could never stop when so much was at stake. She had listened to her teacher for one reason only, so that she could complete the mission. She couldn't mess this up, she couldn't regret her choice. She would not let this be a mistake.

Throwing chakra loaded punches, she wove her way through, thinning the mass of bodies. Hajime had found Naruto and the two were now engaging each other. It made her worry, for a moment, that her team mate had to go up against him alone. But then she realized, with a jolt, that he had no other choice, and Sakura focused on taking out as many of his guys as possible.

Kakashi-sensei, this would be so much easier with you here.

Again came the horrible, painful pang of guilt in her stomach. It made her pause, for just a moment, but that was more than enough. A blade sliced at her stomach, cutting through her shirt and amour and into the sensitive flesh below. Sakura barely flinched, and certainly, she didn't allow it to slow her down.

For a brief moment, she dared to hope that Naruto hadn't seen, but, of course, the blond seemed to have a sixth sense about things like this.

There eyes met for the briefest of moments and then Naruto let out a deep, feral snarl that chilled Sakura to the very bone. Please Naruto, fight it. She found herself hoping, or was it wishing, because already she could feel the hot coils of Jinchuriki chakra poisoning the air.

Please don't give in completely.

"Naruto!" She avoided a strike, "Don't."

"I'm fine." His voice was an octave lower but still, she was relieved that it was still _him, _still Naruto.

Sakura could smell blood. She hated how it smelt, hot and thick as it clogged ever pore of her body, of her enemies' body. Funny, that something like that was what kept each and every one of them alive. Blood got everywhere. Why? Her hair, her clothes, soaking through her gloves to her hands. She wanted to recoil but still she pressed on, breaking bones, breaking bodies until there were more people littering the floor around her feet than standing. She hated this. She hated this so, so much.

Naruto.

Kakashi-sensei.

Still she pressed on. Focus on them.

In the distance, she could hear Naruto scream in rage, and the chakra surges. She didn't turn around, didn't look. Half afraid of what she may see, half scared she may feel that terrible, justified rage course through her. She hated_ that_ the most.

And just as she stuck the last man down, felt the splintering, cracking bone beneath her fingers, felt the blood, he felt something else.

The room was cold all of a sudden. Frigid and it scared Sakura. It scared her more than it would admit.

"Naruto…" She didn't turn around.

"Let's go." His voice was cold, hollow, and Sakura knew that Hajime was dead. Sakura knew that Naruto had killed him.

Still, she didn't turn, "Okay."

***0***

"Sakura, why did you come back for me?"

They were running through the forest now, the only sound the rustle of trees and Naruto's soft, whispered voice. He sounded cold, cold and accusing, but at the same time, there was something that Sakura couldn't quite place. She thought ii might have been forgiveness, but that might have been wishful thinking.

After a few moments of silence, she replied, "I don't know."

Naruto laughed, but the sound was heavy and bitter, "If we hadn't been fortunate to get if afterwards, Kakashi-sensei would have died!"

"I know!"

"Then why?"

Sakura clenched her teeth.

"Sakura, why would you abandon him like that?"

"Because!" Sakura could feel her breath catch in her throat and her eyes were suddenly too wet. She blinked, "Because…" She stopped, resting her hand against the truck of a tree, "Sensei told me to!"

That seemed to catch Naruto off guard and he stopped too, looking at her with wide eyes, "What?"

"Sensei!" She clenched her fists, "He wanted us to finish the mission first. It was important to him."

"You didn't have to listen-"

"Naruto, you don't get it like-" She cut herself off, shaking her head, "Let's just get back, he's running out of time."

Naruto didn't seem to have anything to say to that.

***0***

"No, no, no…"

He can hear Sakura again, her voice growing in volume as she mumbles and mutters to herself, hunched over Kakashi.

They've anministered the antidote but it isn't working.

Sakura's slamming her hands into his chest. _Compressions._ Naruto notes, but his thought feels detached and it floats away over the body of his teacher and through the forrest. Out past the twilight's sickly glow and away until it comes to rest in some medic's head and maybe that thought saves a life. But not this one. Not Kakashi's life.

He could feel his grief, grappling at his chest and climbing it's way out of his throat. He chokes on it, unable to speak or to breath.

"_Come on Sensei!"_

He can feel it now, the last, bleak hope falling flat in his chest and burning it's acidic way through his skin.

He can hear something in the distance. A cheering sound. A cheering that, to him, sounds like, _feels like_ wailing. It seems only fitting that the village would mourn with them. This _filthy_, mocking that they _save_. _Why_ do they save the people? When this is what they receive in return? It is a question that Naruto has asked many times but never has it tasted so very _bitter_ in his mouth and across his tongue. He spits onto the ground, watching, with fascination, the darkening ground. This forest would forever hold parts on them, and he wonders if anyone will notice. Probably not. No ones would care. Humans are like that. And he feels ill all over again, and he feels like killing Hajime again, but he can't and he digs his nails into his arms, gritting his teeth and rocking as Sakura tries to breath life into the dead.

He read somewhere that you can not live beautifully without if being false. And Naruto now knows that this is true.

And then there is a moment of unwritten, unspoken darkness and Naruto wonders when it will finally, _finally_ lift. His shoulders feel heavy under the weight, heavy and pressing, in the hidden silence.

_"Kakashi!"_

Sakura has that voice again, the tone she wore the first time, when Sasuke nearly died, back when they were a team. They all thought she was insane the first time too, but Naruto has to hope that this time, something good will come of this. He has to hope, because without it, his precious hold on sanity will slip and he will have to watch as it shatters on the floor into a million tiny shards.

Pieces that he will try to pick up with clumsy, fumbling fingers. But they will slip and he will cut himself and lie bleeding to death from a broken heart. And Naruto thinks how cliché that sounds and he tries to laugh, but his voice isn't working right.

_It scared me what it talked._

"Naruto…"

"_What_? What is it?" Naruto holds his breath and the world counts loud to ten.

"I…" Sakura doesn't seem to be able to form the words properly, to focus, and she turns her eyes to Naruto now. They are heavy with unshed tears and Naruto feels hope as it drives a stake through his heart, "Sakura…" It's a soft, bitter plea but it's all his has.

Sakura is still sitting there; half slumped on the ground, obscuring his view of Kakashi. And suddenly, Naruto wants to shove her out of the way, throw her to the ground and run to his teacher. He is used to there thoughts, because he loves Sakura. He knows he does. So, instead, Naruto wrenches her body forward, grabbing Sakura's face between his hands. He keeps his hold and he can feel that Sakura's skin is flushed beneath his hands, hot and sticky. He can feel new wetness as tears spill over, pressing into the contours of his palm, soaking his skin.

"Sakura_."_ His voice is a low hiss, but still it is tender, "_What_?"

Sakura seems to be choking, taking in large gulps of air.

A feeling begins to rise in Naruto's chest, it's thick and cold and Naruto can feel patches of perspiration as they break out across his body. Panic. He notes. He's on the verge of panic.

At that moment, Sakura lifts her eyes to meet his. She opens his mouth a few times and then whispers, hoarse and low. When she speaks it's slow and deliberate, like someone waking from a dream, someone not quite sure that everything is real, and "He's alive."

_He's alive._

Naruto doesn't move. Doesn't speak. All of a sudden, it's very, very cold and the sensation of wood beneath him disappears. He cannot swallow. He cannot think. It's so very, very cold. He can still feel the ice on his fingertips from where he last touched the body. Or maybe it's from his heart and the ice has finally, finally melted. He wants to feel rage. He wasn't to hate. No. He needs to.

"He's alive."

Then, Naruto smiles and draws Sakura into a hug, "He's alive."

* * *

**It's finally finished. Thank you everyone who read or reviewed this. It meant a lot. Also, I have another, complete Naruto story that I just put up, if you want to check it out.**

**What did you think? **


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